The Goldman School welcomes twenty-five leaders from Africa this summer as part of the Obama Administration’s Young African Leaders Initiative’s Mandela Fellowship Program. The highly selective US State Department program chooses 500 promising and accomplished fellows from among tens of thousands of applicants and sends them in cohorts of 25 to universities through the US.

President Barack Obama launched the program at the University of Johannesburg in 2013.

“We’re launching a new program that’s going to give thousands of promising young Africans... the opportunity to come to the United States and develop your skills at some of our best colleges and universities,” he said. “[W]e’re joining with our top schools -- public and private.  We’ll focus on civic leadership and public administration and business and entrepreneurship, the skills you need to serve your communities and start and grow businesses and run effective ministries. And you’ll interact with Americans from all walks of life, because our citizens -- especially our young people -- can learn from you, too.”

The Mandela fellows at the Goldman School will live on campus, study civic leadership at GSPP, intern at government and non-profits agencies and enjoy site visits throughout the Bay Area and Sacramento. At the conclusion of the program, they will travel to Washington, DC, for a summit with President Obama.

Read the GSPP Mandela fellow bios here.